After The Candle Wick's Burnt
by Lauren11220
Summary: Three years after the events of Halloween, 1993, an owl arrives for Dani Dennison. Now she finds herself swept back into the world of witchcraft once again, only now as a witch herself.
1. An Owl Arrives

Prologue:

"Booooooooo—oooooooooookkkkk-" Winfred Sanderson's voice travelled through the graveyard and into her own house as she quickly changed from flesh to stone. The skin bound pages and single eye flew from its stand and out the window of the cottage, speeding towards its master's call; it never reached her. As the sun slowly, yet all too quickly for the three witches, rose, newly erected statues exploded into a cloud of shimmering dust. The book fell onto the hallowed ground. The pages curled inwards as unseen flame turned them from yellowed parchment to blackened ash. The skin decayed. The eye melted. Only the pupil remained. Dirt shifted from the ground and surrounded the remnants of the eye, hiding it from the children who waved to the ghosts' exiting the cemetery's eastern gate.

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: An Owl Arrives<p>

Dani Dennison turned her disbelieving gaze first to the owl that sat on her windowsill then to the letter she now clutched in her hand. The owl began to spread its wings in preparation for flight. Dani reached out a hand to stop it, "Hey, wait!" But the bird was already zooming off to the East, becoming a speck in the distance before finally disappearing into the morning sun.

A knock came at her bedroom door. "Dani, time to wake up! You planning on sleeping all day? It's my last day with my little sis, the least she could do is spend it with me!" Dani sprang away from the window and rushed to her door, burying her face in her brother's chest. Max laughed. "Jeez kid, I'll miss you too, but this is my favorite T-Shirt you know."

"Max…" Dani looked up from his chest into his smiling face. However the smile disappeared as he saw the unshed tears building behind his sister's eyes. He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with concern.

"What's wrong? I'll only be on my trip for a little while, you know. And after that I'll only be an hour away."

Dani tried to speak, but suddenly her throat felt as dry as Billy Butcherson. No, drier. Billy had managed to do more than gasp and break into tears. Max led the distraught eleven year old to the bed and pulled her into his lap, stroking her hair soothingly and murmuring words of comfort as she sobbed. This had become a routine sight in Dani's room in recent years, usually in the wee hours of the morning, but Max felt instinctively that this was not the result of a flashback or nightmare.

"Max! If you want clean clothes to take with you tomorrow, you better bring them down now!" Jenny Dennison called as she climbed the stairs, toting an already half full basket of laundry on her hip.

"I'll get it in a minute, Mom!"

"I'm doing laundry now, not "in a minute." I don't know how you're going to survive without me to remind you to pick up after yourself. Honestly, you're nineteen, going away to your second year of college in a less than a month, you should be able to manage a little—" She cut off as she reached her daughter's room. "What's wrong with Dani?"

"She's just a little upset about me going away. Let me handle it."

"You sure?"

"I'm fine, Mom. Can you just leave me alone?" Dani's voice was muffled by her brother's shoulder, but the pleading look and the mouthed words "Nightmare" Max gave their mom, knowing it to be the best way to get his mother to leave them alone though he felt it was not the real cause of Dani's emotional upset this morning, conveyed the message. The first couple of times Dani had suffered from nightmares her parents had tried to comfort her, but their efforts only made the tears come faster. Then she'd call for Max. He would scoop her up in his arms and carry her to his room in the attic. Dave and Jenny never knew what happened after that as he would lock the door behind him. They had listened at the door for a while, but the two would talk in such low voices that neither parent could clearly define the words. The whispers would stop around dawn when, they assumed, the two fell asleep.

She sighed and turned, knowing that her staying would be of no use. She headed downstairs to the kitchen where her husband leaned against the counter, gingerly sipping a steaming mug of coffee. "Where are Max and Dani?" He asked, looking over the rim of his cup.

"I guess one of the nightmares again."

"Again? She hasn't had one in months. I hoped…I didn't hear her last night. Did you?"

"No, I didn't. I wonder if we should dig out her old baby monitor, since Max won't be here."

"You know Dani would never agree to that. She still doesn't want us to know what it's about."

When they had asked Dani what the nightmares were about and she had adamantly refused to tell them, they had accepted her lack of answers, thinking that the dreams would fade as time wore on. When after months the nightly horrors still had not died down, her parents brought it up again, suggesting that Dani see a therapist. But Dani and Max both told them that it was something they could handle, if just given some space. For the most part the children were right; Dani had not suffered from any bad dreams of late and, until this morning, had appeared cured of whatever had plagued her.

Max came down the stairs just then and rushed to the phone, his face pale. His parents called out to him, but he seemingly didn't hear them as he dialed Allison's number. "Hey, Allison, it's Max. Dani, uh…" he looked to his parents. "She had another nightmare. Could you get over here? Fast? Oh, and bring salt, I'm not sure that we have enough here to uh…" again he turned towards Jenny and Dave, "calm her down."


	2. Bring Extra Salt

Chapter Two: Bring Extra Salt

Allison nearly dropped the receiver. She didn't miss Max's nervous undertones. Normally when he would call about Dani's nightmares, he just sounded tired. Now he sounded…scared?

"Max, what's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"

"Uh…Just hurry and bring extra salt, okay?"

"I'm not coming until you tell me what's going on. The sun's up and it's not even October yet." The nightmares had always been just that, nightmares. Dani's fear and flashbacks to that night would always dissipate by morning. Sometimes it took a little longer depending on the proximity to Halloween, but never had Dani's fears lasted this late in the morning in mid-July.

"Uh…Yeah, Mom and Dad are right here. But you can tell them good morning when you get here."

She sighed. There was no way she was getting anything out of Max with his parents standing next to him.

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

She dressed hurriedly and ran the short distance to the Dennison house, salt held under her arm. As soon as she knocked on the door, Allison was dragged by the hand to Dani's room. As Max locked the door, Allison turned to see Dani, sobbing, sitting on the floor surrounded by a circle of salt.

"Max David Dennison, tell me what's going on right now!" she said as she entered the ring and took the girl into her arms. Max handed the letter which he himself had read only minutes before to his girlfriend. She gasped as she read:

* * *

><p>Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry<p>

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Dennison,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

* * *

><p>"What do you think it means?"<p>

"I don't know!"

"Well, what should we do about it?"

"I don't know! All I could think of was the salt thing!"

While Max and Allison tried to make sense of the letter, the doorbell rang. Dave, who had been preparing to leave for work, quickly finished straightening his tie in the mirror in the hall and answered the door. What he saw puzzled him. A woman stood on his doorstep in a long dark green robe held together with a single button over a professional looking black dress. Atop her gray-tinged red hair sat a pointed hat, two feathers clipped to its brim. Such a costume alone would make this woman appear out of place on the Dennison's porch, but odder still were the hedge clippers she held in her left hand.

"Umm…May I help you?"

"I've come to speak with Danielle Dennison and her parents. Am I correct in assuming this is their residence?"

Dave looked from the hedge clippers to the woman's unsmiling face and stammered, "W-well yes, but…well..."

"Are you Danielle's father?"

"Yeah."

"And is Danielle here?"

"Well, yeah, she is."

"Then may I come inside?"

"I don't know if that's—"

"Honey, who's at the door?" Jenny's approaching voice from the laundry room saved him from finishing his uncomfortable answer. She came up behind her husband and, though she tried in politeness to contain it, stared at the visitor in shock.

"Hello, are you Mrs. Dennison?"

"Yes, that's me. How can I help you Ms...?"

"Professor McGonagall. I've come to speak with you and your husband about your daughter Danielle's schooling."

"Oh, well, we're quite happy with the school she's attending now."

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer a school that tailors to her specific talents?"

"And what talents might those be?"

"Just things that seem to happen around her. Unexplainable occurrences."

"Sorry, nothing like that going on here, but you have a nice day." Dave moved to close the door, but stopped as the woman's voice mentioned something else.

"Perhaps things that she's been hiding from you." The Dennisons looked at each other, then reopened the door. Dave spoke.

"You mean, like, nightmares."

"Well, I suppose it could cause nightmares if the child is unaware of the source of what is happening to her."

"What's happening to her?"

"May I come inside?"


	3. The Great Salt War

Chapter Three: The Great Salt War

Professor McGonagall stepped over the threshold. "This is quite a lovely home."

"Thank you," Jenny said. "May I take your hat and your…hedge clippers?"

McGonagall looked down at the strange object as if seeing it for the first time. "Oh yes, of course. I forget how odd these can sometimes look. Usually they're small, so I can slip them into my pocket, but the farther you travel the larger they must be." McGonagall chuckled slightly as she handed them over to Jenny, who gave her a nervous smile in return.

While Jenny put the hedge clippers in the hall closet, Dave led Professor McGonagall into the main living room. "What's going on with Dani? And how would you know about it."

"Your daughter possesses a gift, a not too terribly uncommon gift, but one you might not be likely to believe. Perhaps it would be best to bring Danielle in?" Jenny, who had just made it to the doorway of the living room, went to get her.

* * *

><p>"Could it be some kind of prank?" Allison suggested from where she was sitting on the bed.<p>

"Nah, who would know that this kind of thing would freak us out?" Max countered as he paced in front of Dani's bed.

"Yeah, I guess." Dani sat leaned against the bed-frame, a blue can of Morton's salt cradled to her chest. Allison reached down and stroked her head. She discovered that either Dani or Max had sprinkled salt into the girl's hair at some point in the morning. Something in her mind clicked as she held a few granules on the tip of her finger.

"Wait a second, if this letter is real and Dani really is a witch, then how can she be covered in salt right now?" The mood in the room immediately changed. Max began to smile. "Yeah Dan, you put so much salt on your food that even Dad can't stand to share french fries with you."

She beamed up at him and threw a couple of grains of salt playfully. "Thanks, Jerk-face."

He laughed as scooped up a handful from the floor and threw back at her. "Any time, kiddo." Soon all three were flinging salt at each other, coating the room in a layer of white. But as Allison tried to seize control of a salt can from Max, Dani's smile slipped.

"Hey guys;" the laughing couple didn't hear. "Guys!" The game stopped with Max tucked under Allison's arm, his own arm extended from her as she tried to reach it without releasing her prisoner.

"What's wrong now?"

"If the letter's not real, and no one knows enough about that night to joke about it, who's it from?"

Before Max or Allison could answer the door opened and Jenny walked in. "Dani, there's a…" she trailed off as she took in the salt covered room.

"I'll clean it up, Mom." Dani said quickly.

"Yeah, Mom, me too."

"And me, Jen."

She made no reply. Instead Jenny continued to stare open mouthed at the salty state of the room and her children. She shook her head as if to clear.

"You three most certainly will clean all of this up. Honestly! There is salt everywhere! What were you thinking?"

Dani shuffled her feet. Max scratched the back of his neck. Allison clasped her hands in front of her and stared down into them. None of them responded to the question.

"Dani, go clean yourself off. There's a woman here to see you."

"Who?"

"A teacher, I don't know who she is, she just wants to see you and I doubt she wants to see you covered in salt. Now go clean yourself up!"

"A teacher?" Max asked as Dani hurried off to the bathroom.

"I guess she's teacher. She wants to talk about Dani's education. She's strange though, robes and a witch's hat. You two either clean yourselves up or start on this room." She closed the door and went back down the hall, shaking her head and muttering to herself about the oddness of her morning.

Max turned to Allison and answered Dani's earlier question. "Well, it looks like we're about to find out."


	4. A Mistake

Chapter Four:

"Max!" Jenny called after him as he brushed past her and ran down the stairs, leaving a trail of salt in his wake. Allison was right behind him. Max skid to a halt in front of the doorway to the living room. David turned from Professor McGonagall to his son.

"Max? Why are you covered in—"

"Explain later, Dad. And just who are you?" He demanded of the strange woman who pursed her lips together as she stood, hands folded in front, and addressed the young man in front of her.

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration instructor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I do not appreciate being addressed in such a tone or with such indignation. Ah, Miss Dennison, I presume?"

Max looked behind him where his sister stood peeking in from the hall, clothes changed, the majority of the salt battle's remnants combed out of her hair, and a shocked and scared look on her face as she took in the professor's attire and the meaning of her words.

"You sent the letter?" Dani asked bluntly.

"I did. However, I realized only after it had been sent that the letter was the inappropriate one for this situation. I apologize for the confusion this must have caused you."

Max sighed with relief. This woman had made a mistake; Dani was not a witch. They were done with magic. Well, except for the fact that a witch still stood in his living room. With that thought in mind, Max tensed up again and moved to stand protectively in front of his sister.

"Okay, so you made a mistake. Thanks for telling us. Now go. Dani's had her fill of witches for this lifetime." He said with a curt nod in the direction of front door. Instead of leaving as Max had demanded, she made herself comfortable in one of the room's arm chairs.

"I have no intention of leaving, Mr. Dennison, until I have fully explained the nature of my mistake and Miss Dennison's gift."

"Wait a second!" Jenny called out, stepping into the room. "Just what are all of you talking about? What letter? And what's all this about witches?" Max realized his slip up. He had just revealed to his parents what they had been desperately trying to keep from them for nearly three years. He stammered.

"Well, uh, it's, well, you see, it's…"

McGonagall interrupted him. "If I may be allowed to explain, I believe I can shed some light on at least part of the subject?"

Allison reached out to lay her hand on Max's arm. "Maybe we should listen to her."

"But you heard what she said, she's a—"

"Yeah, I heard her, but making her angry isn't going to solve anything."

Max sighed and took Dani's hand. Dani, in a state of shock, let Max lead her to the sofa opposite the woman. Allison seated herself beside Dani.

"Alright…Explain."


	5. Explanations

Chapter Five:

"The letter that I had mistakenly sent was not meant for people like Miss Dennison. The letter she received was for students coming from magical families, not for muggleborns, that is, students without magical parents. The letter she was meant to receive would have explained everything about her gift and about the school."

"You keep saying she has a gift," Dave said as he took a seat in one of the arm chairs. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Your daughter is has magical talents and abilities that I am assuming you were previously unaware of."

Jenny laughed. "But there's no such thing as magic."

Professor McGonagall retrieved her wand from inside the folds of her jacket. Dani's eyes grew wide as she saw the object, while Max and Allison started brushing some of the salt that still covered their arms onto Dani. But she did not point the wand in their direction. Instead she picked up a book from the coffee table. Dani had been reading it the night before.

"Could you read the cover of this book?"

Jenny looked at it. "Magic Tree House #6, Afternoon on the Amazon, Mary Pope Osborne."

McGonagall moved her wand in an intricate pattern over the book and tap it twice, saying, "_Illegibilus_."

"Now could you read the cover of this book?" Jenny looked at the book once again, and found to her shock that the writing which had been so clear only moments before was now a jumble of letters and symbols.

"It's just some kind of trick, some sort of illusion."

McGonagall sighed and began moving objects about the room, shrinking pillows to miniature sizes, and then back again. She made the ceiling fan spin and the curtains open and close. Dave and Jenny watched in fascination as everything in their living room zoomed over their heads, changed shape, and changed back. Max held tight to Dani's arm, but the as she watched the harmless objects float around her, her began to drift away. When everything had resettled back into its proper place, shape, and size, Dani's voice broke the awed silence that had fallen over her family.

"I could do all of that?"

McGonagall smiled at her. "You could do so much more than just that, my dear, with the right education. That's what Hogwarts is, a school for teaching young witches and wizards how to control and use their magic."

"And just how do you know that my sister can do magic?"

"A register at the school lists every magical child as they are born. I cannot explain how the process works; that is one secret known only to the founders of the school."

"So…" Dave began, "Dani's been on this list that says she can do magic since she was born, and now you're here to take her away to your school to teach her how to use this stuff?"

"Yes."

"…That's just…That's just about the craziest thing I've ever heard."

Allison chuckled. "I've heard stranger."

Dani laughed a little too. "Yeah, definitely."

Dave looked at them in disbelief. "You've heard stranger? That's not funny guys."

"No, it's not." Max agreed. "Nothing about what happened was funny."

"C'mon, Max. Did you see any soul stealing right now? No, just stuff flying around," Dani said, pulling away from the grip Max had held on her arm through the entire exchange.

"Of course she's not going to show you soul sucking now; she's trying to lure you in."

"I assure you, Mr. Dennison, that I have never practiced the dark arts. Even if I did, 'soul sucking' is beyond the abilities of even the darkest of wizards."

"Oh yeah? As someone who has personally dealt with soul eating witches, forgive me if I don't believe you."

McGonagall sat up straighter and regarded Max with a quizzical air. "And when did you come face to face with such witches?"

"Yes, Max," Jenny asked. "Just when was this?"

Max looked away from his parents, and sent an asking look towards Dani and Allison. Dani looked down at her lap, but gave a slight nod.

"Three years ago on Halloween I lit the black flame candle."


	6. ATCWB CH6

"I do not believe I am the right one to explain what has happened. History of Magic and the Dark Arts are not my areas of expertise." McGonagall reached for her bag, which she had stowed away in her robes. "If you will excuse me for just a moment, I'll need to send a message to a colleague."

Mrs. Dennison stood. "Of course, the phone is in the kitchen. I'm afraid I don't know what the international dialing code is, though." McGonagall smiled at her.

"That will not be necessary. The people I must contact do not use muggle phone lines. Could you perhaps show me to your loo?" The Dennisons and Allison looked at each other in confusion. Witches used toilets to make phone calls?

"Um, yes, sure. It's just down the hall, first door to your right."

"Thank you."

Once within the confines of the rest room, Professor McGonagall retrieved her wand. She closed her eyes, recalled her happiest memory, and spoke, "Expecto Patronum." A silver light expelled from the end of her wand and took the form of a cat.

* * *

><p>Downstairs, Max held an iron grip on Dani. "Max, can I have my arm back?"<p>

"What?" He asked, not noticing his tight hold on his sister. "Oh, yeah, sorry." He rather reluctantly released her. Allison looked over at him and he managed a small smile.

Jenny and Dave watched the exchange between their two children and the girl who had become a constant presence in their lives. After that Halloween they had noticed Max's new concern for Dani. When she had a nightmare or was upset, he would not let anyone near her, aside from Allison on the occasions that she would ask for her. He also stopped seeing her as an annoyance, instead demanding to be a part of her life. In school, when asked to write an essay on the most influential person in his life, he was able to write three full double spaced pages about his younger sister.

The same was true in Dani's actions towards Max, though not to the same extent. She was visibly closer to her brother. There was a time when their daughter wouldn't even allow her brother to touch her without protest. Now, even on the nights when the nightmares were faraway, it was not an uncommon occurrence to find the two sleeping on the sofa, Dani tucked snuggly under Max's arm.

Allison too had become as important to Max and Dani as they were to each other. Jenny and Dave were surprised the morning after Halloween (more like afternoon, as both Max and Dani slept in very late) when a knock came at the door and they found a girl asking to see their son. They were even more shocked when Max came bounding down the stairs and embraced the girl, placing a light kiss on her forehead, saying "Hey, Babe." Since then she had spent nearly every moment she was not at school with the Dennisons.

Professor McGonagall came back into the room. "It may be awhile before we get any word back. Even by magic, it takes some time for a patronus to travel across the ocean."

"Patronus?" Allison asked.

"A defense charm that can also be used to carry messages. It also protects against dementors."

"In that case," Max said quickly. "Shouldn't Dani learn it? After all, we have been attack by those things before."

"Please, relax young Mr. Dennison. Conjuring a patronus is very advanced magic. Very few underage witches or wizards can cast even a non-corporeal one. Aside from that, I now believe that I was mistaken when I told you you had been attacked by dementors. The Sanderson Sisters, according to history and your account, were indeed witches. Very dark witches."

Dani gasped, clinging to Max and Allison, tears coming to her eyes once again. "How do you…How do you know that I'm like them? That I'm a witch?"

"You are _not _like the Sanderson Sisters. Winifred, Mary, and Sarah were a rare case and very dark. No one is born dark, Miss Dennison. It is something that must be aspired to."

Allison spoke, "How do you know that Dani's a witch? She's never done any magic."

"Never? Nothing's happened that couldn't be explained?"

"Like what?" Mr. Dennison asked.

"Anything strange when she was upset or angry."

Everyone sat in silent thought for a few moments before Max recalled a time when they were small children. "Dani was just two, and I was ten. Mom and Dad went to stay with grandma after her hip surgery and left us with our aunt. She just about smothered Dani the whole time we were there, and Dani didn't like it one bit. Every time that Aunt Diane came near her she'd scream her head off. One time when Diane went to the bathroom, the door locked and she couldn't get it open for hours, not until Dani fell asleep. I got blamed for holding the door closed, but didn't do anything. Could that have been Dani?"

"Certainly. Babies often unknowingly use magic to get what they want, which in this case was to be left alone."

"But how do you know I did that? Or that it was magic?"

"There are tracers on all underage witches and wizards. Every time you do a bit of magic not at school, the magical government knows about it. Also, whenever a magical child is born it is recorded and sent to the nearest magical institution. I am not quite sure why it is that your name was sent to Hogwarts."

"She was born premature, while we were on vacation in England." Mrs. Dennison explained.

Just then, a silver bird flew into the room and spoke to McGonagall.

"Bring all three of them to Hogwarts immediately. I've opened a floo connection between the Dennison's fireplace and the one in your office."

The ghostly bird dissolved into the air. In the pregnant silence that followed, McGonagall walked over to the fireplace, removing the decorative plant that it housed in the summertime. She cast incendio and threw in some green powder from her bag. "Hurry along now. This flame doesn't have much to go on, so we'll have to be quick." Max, Dani, and Allison stayed rooted to the loveseat.

"Wait, you can't just take them!" Mr. Dennison protested.

"Albus Dumbledore would not request their presence lightly, Mr. Dennison. I'm sorry, but I must bring them with me."

"When will they be back?" Mrs. Dennison asked worriedly.

"I can give you no answer, other than that you will be notified."

Dani ran into her mother's arms. Max and Allison stood up. "Well," he said. "We were leaving tomorrow anyway." His father engulfed the both of them.

"Yeah, but that was to settle into your apartment before school started, not to go off into a world of magic."

"We'll be fine, Mr. Dennison," Allison promised. "It's not like this is the first time we've gone off with witches, and this one seems nicer than the last ones we dealt with." Dani gave a watery laugh at that and pulled away from her mother. Instantly her father swept her up. After holding her for a few moments he set her back on the ground.

Allison, Max, and Dani approached the fireplace. McGonagall ushered them inside, after assuring them that they would not be burnt. "Repeat after me, 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Transfiguration Professor's office.'" They did so and were swallowed in the green flames.


	7. Retelling Again

**Author's Note: I just wanted to thank everyone who is reading, reviewing, or adding this story to their alerts. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I also wanted to let you know that my updates are likely to be sporadic. I'm not in good health, you see, and I write when I'm able (usually brief periods of sleeplessness between th****ree and five A.M.) On a happier note, I think I know where I'm going with this better than I did when I started writing. Before now I had the same questions in my head that you are likely asking at this point in the story. I suppose you're tired of reading this author's note now and would like to get on with the story, but if I could hold your attention just one more moment I would like to say that I do not own Harry Potter or Hocus Pocus. You probably guessed that, but, ya know, its just one of those things I've got to say. Now, read on and have a Happy Tuesday! (I celebrate Tuesdays, not entirely sure why.)**

* * *

><p>"Woah, check this place out!" Max said as the trio stepped out of the fireplace and into Professor McGonagall's office. "It looks like something out of the middle ages!"<p>

"It looks like something out of the Sanderson House." Dani countered. Max hugged her.

"Aw, Dani, come on. You heard the Professor; the Sandersons were a rare case."

Dani didn't get a chance to respond as Professor McGonagall arrived just as they had moments before. "Follow me, please." They followed her out of the office, through the classroom, down a corridor, and into a courtyard. Dani walked between Max and Allison, gripping one hand each as they made their way into the castle. Upon reaching the Grand Staircase, the three stopped, staring at the seemingly never ending sets of steps. They were awakened from their awe inspired trance by McGonagall telling them to stick close, so they did not get separated on the moving stairs. They climbed several flights, exclaiming as the steps moved beneath them and gasping as they noticed ghosts drifting through moving portraits, before entering a twisting hallway off a the seventh floor landing and following it to a gargoyle.

"Lemon Curry," McGonagall said to the grotesque statue, which, to the three's utter shock, moved aside to reveal a spiraling, moving, stairwell. The professor led them to a door at the top and knocked.

"Come in," the voice that had come from the silvery bird only minutes before called. The door opened and Max, Allison, and Dani were ushered inside.

"Professor Dumbledore, may I present Maxwell and Dani Dennison along with Allison Miller. Mr. and Miss Dennison, Miss Miller, this is Professor Albus Dumbledore, Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards, and Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Professor McGonagall rattled off the introductions, giving the same titles as listed in Dani's letter as she inclined her head to an elderly man seated behind a large desk.

"Thank you for the introductions, Minerva. Please, sit," the old man spoke with a smile. Looking into his twinkling eyes as he gestured to the three chairs which had appeared in front of the his desk, Dani felt at ease for the first time since she had awaken that morning to the tapping sounds of an owl at her window. As they sat a figure drifted through the closed door.

"You sent for me, Headmaster?" Dani gaped slightly as she turned and saw that the bored, droning voice had come from a ghost.

"Ah, yes, Cuthbert. I'll make introductions in a moment after Professors Snape and Slughorn have arrived."

"Horace Slughorn has returned to Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Indeed, he has taken up the post of potions master once again. I've given Professor Snape the Defense Against the Dark Arts position for the coming term." McGonagall pursed her lips into a tighter line than they had been in previously, but made no other comment to Dumbledore's statement. The Headmaster turned his gaze from the Transfigurations professor back to the three who sat before him, "Lemon drop?" He said, offering them a bowl.

They did not have the chance to either accept or decline the candy before a pale, unsmiling man in flowing black robes entered, stationing himself behind and slightly to the left Professor Dumbledore. The brief feeling of ease Dani had received seconds before was gone as he eyed the trio suspiciously for a moment, then returned his face to the stoic expression he had worn upon entering the room.

"Sorry it took me so long, Headmaster," a stout man panted, leaning on the doorframe for support, "Either the staircases have gotten longer, or I've gotten older than I'd thought."

"Perhaps a little of both, old friend," Dumbledore said with a smile, motioning that Slughorn stand by Snape, which he did with some degree of reluctance, as McGonagall took the headmaster's other side.

"We have some special guests here today. Mr. Dennison, Miss Dennison, and Miss Miller here have come all the way from Salem. Dennisons, Miss Miller, may I introduce Professors Snape, Slughorn, and Binns. You already know Professor McGonagall. Miss Dennison may hopefully become a student here in the new term." Dani offered a shaky hello, which was returned only by the man Dumbledore had indicated to be Slughorn.

"Salem, you say?" The large man asked. "I recall having the opportunity to journey there only once, many years ago. Had a wonderful time. Tell me, is that muggle museum about the Sanderson Sisters still operating?" Max, Dani, and Allison all looked to one another.

"No, sir. It closed a long time ago," Max answered slowly.

"Ah, yes. Probably for the best, as it were. I'm afraid I remember the wards placed by the American Government for Magic on the house were rather lax. Any wizard worth half his salt could have come in and lit that candle. Not exactly the best protection for such dark magic."

Three sets of eyes went wide. "Well, Professor, it would seem you have hit the nail right on the head, as the saying goes. The Black Flame Candle is precisely the reason for our guests' visit. Is that not correct?" Dumbledore directed his question at Max, who nervously cleared his throat.

"Um, yeah. I, well, um, lit the candle." Binns, who had been hovering tiredly in a corner was instantly awake. Slughorn looked ready to faint.

"You needn't look so pale, Horace. If my understanding is correct, the events which these three shall hopefully recall for us took place three years ago." Dumbledore's words did nothing to change Slughorn's pallor as Binns excused himself to retrieve his note-taking supplies.

When he returned, Max, Dani, and Allison recounted their story for the second time that day. As they told the professors and headmaster the events that had transpired that night, the smile that had graced the latter's face and the twinkle his eye fled. Occasionally he would interrupt them, either for a question or to clarify a statement. Other than that, the only sounds which prevailed in the room were the voices of the trio, Slughorn's gasps, and the scratch of quill against parchment. Even those slight noises ceased when, at the end of the tale, a heavy silence fell over the room. The three shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Well…" Dumbledore started, then stopped, not entirely certain of what to say. "I must admit that when Minvera's patronus arrived informing me that an eight year old muggleborn, her fifteen year old brother, and his girlfriend had brought back, and defeated, three of the most powerful and dark witches to have ever lived, I thought that perhaps there had been some misunderstanding. But now…I'm simply shocked. How you managed to survive that night is truly a mystery to me. I'm afraid that, and I'm sure my colleagues will agree with me, we'll need a bit more time to process all of this." He smiled at everyone gathered. "I'm not sure about you all, but I'm rather pecked. How about we head down for supper?"


	8. Binx's Burial

**_Hiya, People! Bet you thought I had forgotten. Nope! I didn't! Would you like an explanation for the long wait. Of course not! You just want to continue the story. Well, I won't hold you up for too much longer, just let me make a few little announcements. (If you do want an explanation, I'll post it at the end of the chapter.) I am in the process of rewriting this story. So far I have rewritten the tale up to Chapter Three, but I hope to continue rewriting over the next few days. I am doing this for two main reasons: one, I do not like what I have written, and two, since I have had to completely rethink this story, I have decided to send it in another direction than what might have been hinted at in early chapters. Well that's about it for me, unless you want to read the explanation at the end of the chapter. In case you didn't know, I own neither Harry Potter nor Hocus Pocus._**

Chapter Eight:

Dani closed the door to her room with as much silence as could be expected in an over one hundred and fifty year old house. The squeak of the hinges and the faint _click _of the handle sliding into place made her wince. She stopped to listen for her parents' snores in the next room. Since discovering their children's secret, Mr. and Mrs. Dennison had become light sleepers, frequently waking in the wee hours of the morning to peek in on their daughter after hearing a _creak_ that sounded, to them, like a cry.

Satisfied that her mother and father were still sleeping despite her noise, Dani tiptoed down the stairs, through the kitchen, onto the porch, and down the steps to the sidewalk. She looked up at the window directly above. The lights were still off. Dani began walking up the street, towards the outskirts of the historic district of Salem. The late August air still held a warm remnant of summer, but the slight breeze that shook the branches overhead and created waves in the tall grass that lined the side path that led away from the streets made Dani wish that she had thought to bring a light jacket. Rubbing her arms for warmth, she continued on her round-about way the cemetery.

Walking through town would have been a faster route, but doing so would have also meant going past the Sanderson Sisters' house. While she had been assured by the witches and wizards she met at Hogwarts, and again by a few American officials who had been sent to inspect the house, that the old museum no longer held any dangerous artifacts, Dani did not want to pass by it at night.

She approached the gate on the eastern side of the cemetery. The gate was closed this evening, but there was enough space beneath for her to wiggle under. Weaving through the numerous vine covered gravestones of those first settlers long since at peace, Dani sat at the foot a tree, no taller than her, that stood between the final resting places of two whose deaths were more recent. While the one to her left had died centuries ago, his silent death had been disturbed on that fateful Halloween night. Dani politely whispered, "Hi, Billy," as she ducked under low hanging branches. However, the briefly reawaken man was not the reason for tonight's visit and she turned to the smaller, more fresh grave on her right. Dani closed her eyes; she could remember it so well:

_ The spirits' figures waved back at Max, Dani, and Allison before turning down the path that would later become Dani's preferred route to the graveyard, and then the two disappeared into the warm light of dawn. Max knelt down and scooped up the cat's now lifeless body. "Isn't there like a groundskeeper or something that looks after this place?" He asked Allison._

_ "Yeah, there should be. He'll probably be along soon, checking for Halloween pranks and all." Max looked down at his bundle, then at Billy's uncovered grave._

_ "We should probably cover him up," he indicated to the now sleeping Butcherson. "We could put Binx in with him."_

_ "No," Dani said softly and reached for her friend. "He deserves his own grave." Max protested as she lifted the cat from his arms and began to walk away, but Allison lightly touched his shoulder._

_ "Let her say good bye." Max sighed then nodded. Allison closed the lid to Billy's coffin and began pushing dirt overtop of it. Max followed her lead, frequently looking behind him to see where Dani had gone. She had put Binx's body in the crypt that he had led them through earlier that night and covered him with branches and dead vines. She climbed back out and helped her brother and his new…whatever they were. Surely after everything that had just happened, the two were more than friends, but she didn't know exactly what title to place on the girl who had come into their lives so suddenly. A similar torrent ran through Max's mind as they covered the obviously newly unturned soil with fallen leaves. His thoughts were put more at ease when Allison kissed him softly as they left the hallowed ground and turned their separate ways. Max stood in front of the main gates in a daze, holding his fingers to his lips as she called "Good night!" behind her._

_ Dani tugged on his arm. "C'mon, Kissy-face." They climbed into the car, drove home, and fell asleep on the couch, too tired to climb the stairs to their rooms. The rest of that day was spent with Allison, trying to sort through everything that had happened and come to terms with it all. They didn't succeed in the latter for a long time; Dani still hadn't._

_ When night fell, the trio returned to the cemetery to bury Binx. His body had not been disturbed, aside from the few flies that buzzed around his head. They decided to dig his grave directly behind Emily's, so that his body could look after her as he had tried to do in life. With only garden trowels, the digging was slow going and after three hours the hole had only reached a depth of two feet. Still they placed him in the ground and covered his body. _

_In strewing dead foliage over the grave to hide it from the groundskeeper, Dani found what looked like a small clump of dirt. However, when she kicked it aside she discovered that the clod did not break apart as expected. She knelt and picked it up; it was as hard as stone. And it felt…she could almost feel Binx beside her, nearly hear his voice in her mind. She placed the strange rock on the grave as the faithful cat's only marker and left the cemetery._

She picked up the same rock now, as she always did when she visited Binx. Somehow it made her feel closer to him. "Hi, Binx. I just wanted to tell you a few things and guess…well you probably won't like it." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'mawitch," she said quickly, then released a gush of air that she hadn't realized she was holding. It was the first time she had said it aloud. The admission seemed to unlock a floodgate and she began to sob to her friend. "I'm sorry. I don't really know how it happened and I know that you're probably disappointed in me, I mean, after all, you did die trying to stop witches and everything, but I promise I won't be bad and evil like they were. I'll do something good. I swear I'll do something good." She kept repeating those words, over and over, through her tears, clutching the stone tighter in her hand.

When the tears began to subside she placed the stone back on the ground and stood to leave. She had nearly reached the gate when she turned and rushed back to the grave. Running her hand over the grass, she found the odd rock was again. The breeze seemed to pick up slightly and she heard a faint whisper. "_It's okay, Dani._"

She gasped, and then shook her head, telling herself that it was her mind playing tricks on her. Still Dani put the stone in her pocket before saying one last good-bye to the cemetery's occupants and going back under the gate.

_**If you are reading this, then you want an explanation. This same explanation is posted on my profile, but to save you a click of the mouse, I've put it here.**_

**_"...Allow me to explain. I was really rather ill when I started writing on this site. I was awake for maybe two to three hours a day and the rest of my time was spent sleeping. I remember watching a cartoon with my brother sometime in October, but that's the last thing I that stands out clearly in my mind until mid December. According to my family and friends I did do things during that time (attended a banquet for my marching band, made up work for school, watched TV now and then) but I can't recall any of it._**

**_Needless to say I was shocked when I went through my e-mail and discovered all of these messages alerting me that this user or that has subscribed to my site, favorited my story. WHAT STORY! And so, in late February, I read the story that I had begun in early November for the first time. It sounds like my writing, though I think it needs some revision, and certainly the "Happy Tuesday" comment in the author's note seems like me, but I don't remember any of it...Scary, right?_**

**_According to one of my author's notes I said that I had a much better idea of where the story was going, only now I have no clue what that "better idea" was. I have search through every document of my computer and every piece of paper in my writing desk for the plot, but...nothing, nada, zilch, zero, nil. So while I try to figure out where I was headed with After the Candle Wick Is Burnt I hope all of you kind readers will remain patient and understanding."_**

**_Well, you kind readers did remain patient and understanding and for that I thank you. I sorted of figured out where I was headed, but then decided to head another way because this way makes more sense. I will hopefully finish all of my rewriting by early next week and then will begin writing more chapters and stuff. Thank you all for your interest in this story and I hope you have a Happy Third Tuesday._**


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